How Much of a Simple Life? Freeganism

Photo Credit: Spcbrass

Many people in the Personal Finance blog community have shared their thoughts on living a less consumer-centric lifestyle. Some of the best articles I’ve seen are:

• The Simple Dollar on Voluntary Simplicity
• Get Rich Slowly Reviewing Debt is Slavery
• Wise Bread’s Section on Frugal Living

I’m trying to cut down on excess waste myself. I can be a packrat at times with things and I’m working on improving that aspect. So far, I’m learning ways to reduce the clutter in my life from Live Simple by John December.Today I was looking at the paper and I noticed an article about freeganism. I never heard of it but the title caught my attention, “From trash to treasure”. I decided to read it and learned about a culture that eschews capitalistic methods of acquiring resources. It seemed like simple living to the extreme. Some people mention in the article don’t shop at grocery stores for their food, they go through dumpsters in search of food. It’s definitely not my cup of tea but I was interested in finding out more about them.I decided to look up online a bit more about this lifestyle and thought it would be something interesting to share. The general idea I got reading some sources is that there’s no definitive means of identifying a freegan. Here are some major concepts within the movement:

• Minimize their ecological and economic imprint
• Communal lifestyle (share finds with others)
• Live off of excess waste (dumpsters of grocers and restaurants)

There are some resources for anybody who wants to learn more.

• Wikipedia’s Entry on Freeganism
• New York Times Article
• Freegan Information About the Movement
• Exchange Unwanted Items
• Freegan Resources
• L.A. Times Article

My question is, Where to you draw the line in simple living? Please leave your comments so others can see.

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